% MCC Adopts Procedures For Drug Use MAW MCDt A NfWS SIKVICE Procedures dealing with drug and alcohol use on the campus of McHenry County college have been developed. President Robert Bartlett introduced the policy to the board of the college in session last week. "I don't feel we have a drug or alcohol use problem on campus, but on st going to i our head in the sand about the possibility of it existing", Bartlett told members. Action stemmed from a concern expressed by students last fall over the lack of formal procedures in dealing with problems that might arise. The new procedure involves three steps of response to be followed by the director of security or his staff in case of student or staff possession of drugs or alcohol on campus The first is removal of the alcoholic beverage or controlled substance from the individual and hir dismissal from campus for the remainder of the day. A second offense by the same person wouldtnean his removal from campus for that day and the requirement that he make an# appointment with the assistant dean within 48 hours of his return to classes. If he should fail to do this, the student would need to see the dean of instruction. For a third offense, or failure to report as required for the second of fense, the student would be required to leave campus for the day with direct referral to the dean of instruction's office for investigation. Recom mendations from that investigation could cause the student to be expelled. After a review of the procedures, Trustee Herbert Lutter asked that Bartlett have the administrative policy placed in the Tartan, the MCC student newspaper, and the student handbook. Johnsburg Budget Cuts McHenry Sewer plant manager. Eugene Hester, explains the various stages of treatment operations to a Plain dealer reporter. STAFF PHOTO-WAYNE C.AYLORD Construction on the $1.5 million sewer plant expansion project is nearing completion and McHenry sewer {riant manager, Eugene Hester, said it should be finished in the next two months. When completed, the additions at the sewer plant will raise the facility's population equivalent (PE) from 17,500 to 25,000 - allowing for considerable growth in the city sewer system. Hester noted that the raw sewage that flows into the plant, an average of 1.6 million gallons per day, consists of 99 percent water and l percent sewage. The influent passes two large com- minuters (grinders) which shred any solid materials, like paper and twigs, that may be present. From the comminuters, the influent is pumped into three large tanks, the primary clarifiers. In these tanks, Hester said, anywhere from 50 percent to 60 percent of the suspended solids in the influent settle out. Hester said the detention time in this first stage of the treatment process is an hour to two hours. Materials that are not biodegradable, such as grease and oil, are skimmed from the top of the influent in the primary clarifiers and sent to holding tanks prior to disposal. Hester ex plained that since the grease and oil would not break down, it could gum up the works later on in the treatment process. The second stage of the treatment is the "aeration stage" where aerobic digesters go to work on materials in the influent. Hester commented that there was little problem with the influent freezing during the winter because the influent comes in at a relatively constant temperature of about 52 degrees. During the summer, the temperature is about 12 degrees higher, Hester said. In the third stage of treatment, the influent is sent to the "final clarifiers" where most of the remaining solid materials settle to the bottom of the (Continued on page 18) tMAW MKMA NfWS MWtCl Actions on spending cuts will be made in meetings March 24 or 31, according to recent indications to the board of Johnsburg School District 12 by Dr. Ken Falkinham^The assistant superin tendent said there were 800 to 1,000 . decision packages to be studied to ^determine where they can reduce spending without hurting existing programs. The board said it is not now in debt and doesn't want to be. Members received a report on a needs survey made in the district which Was conducted through questionnaires to voters, to eighth grade students and juniors in high school and to all em pleyees.The survey seeks to learn what is important in the school system to the r#pondent on the questionnaire, and the results will be used for further Siion making. le board also recently approved an ication for a routine federal grant under Title 1V-B for $10,500. The nmey, distributed to all schools that aak for it, allows $2.25 per student for audio visual material, teaching aids. and similar products for classroom use. An okay also was given an ap plication for money under Title 1V-C which would be alloted to main streaming special, education students Falkinham indicated that District 12 would be vying with a number of other schools for limited funds Johnsburg schools will open Aug 31 for student attendance, the board of School District 12 indicated Feb. 24 as they approved the calendar for the 1961 -82 school year In general, the new schedule agrees with the county's standard calendar. Assistant Supt Ken Falkinham noted. If no extra snow days are used, the last day of attendance will be June 3,1982; otherwise the year will be extended to comply with minimum attendance requirements, the board noted. The board was advised that the school staff is preparing for the North Central association evaluation, scheduled every seven years Teams will review the school facilities and teaching methods in visits set for March 24, 25, and 26 for an ac creditation report The board is considering using cable TV facilities available in McHenry for teaching aids and to disseminate school activities to the community A report will be made to the board with recommendations after staff and ad ministration investigate the feasibility Board recognition was extended to Amy Vayoj a Junior high school student, who received a contest prize for her essay on American history In other educational . matters. Pat Bingrnan. principal at the Johnsburg Middle school, reported on new text books for use at that facility In other business the hoard elected not to go writh other school districts in protestmg a rate rais*- proposed by Commonwealth Edison Members also discussed affiliation with other athletic conferences due to the possibility of dissolution of the one in which the high school is now participating The board considered for future action a formalized policy which would (Continued on page 18) Agricultural Area Formations Urged Farm people have "a golden op portunity" to preserve one of this nation's most precious assets, but time is fleeting and action should be started now to establish Agricultural Areas under the new Agricultural Area act. That was the message, backed by examples of serious inroads on this state's farmland, that Herb Klynstra delivered to the McHenry County Farm Bureau Young Farmers committee and several other guests last week. Klynstrs, a veteran in local govern mental affairs who is experienced in the number of complex matters con fronting citizens of Illinois, has headed the department of local government for the Illinois Farm Bureau since 1965. "Establish an Agricultural Area now to avoid urban sprawl," he said. "The adoption of this act by the Illinois General Assembly and signed by the governor states that to preserve far mland in Illinois is the law of the state. "It is a voluntary program of 500 acres of adjacent land-or land as contiguous as feasible. The loss of farmland should be a stern warning to all citizens, not just farmers, that something must be done if we are going to feed people in the decades ahead." He dted a major problem in addition tody loss of land actually farmed when norMon, shopping centers, high ways, airports, golf courses, or some other non-farming use takes over the land. ? "The impact of taking land out of farming is far greater than the actual area diverted from farming The im pact on adjacent land creates wastelands of qpen space In DuPage county, for example, there are probably 30,000 acres of open space of good farmland, yet little is farmed There are no machinery dealers, seed dealers, or fertilizer dealers, and no roads on which to move farm mcr r/r machinery Livestock farmers were driven out 20 years ago "It is nearly the same in Lake county and in part of Kane county, especially east of the Fox river People in McHenry county still have many hundreds of acres of good far mland and have an opportunity as well (Continued on page 18| In McHerfry Area Branch Office For Sheriff Possibility SHAW MEDIA NEWS SERVICE The Public Safety committee of the McHenry County board is looking into the possibility of building a branch Sheriff's office in the eastern part of the county According to Thomas Huemann of Johnsurg. a committee member a logical location for the proposed structure would be somewhere on a major thoroughfare between McHenry and Crystal Lake Huemann has requested an in depth study to investigate the feasibility of building a garage facility temporary holding area and communications tower with an associated traffic court facility and small claims processing area in the eastern part of the county The •"sub-station. Huemann said would help to relieve space prohlems at the county courthouse (Continued on page 18) THE MCHENRY PLAINDEALER " S E R V I N G T H E C H A I N - O - L A K E S R E G I O N S I N C E 1 8 75" VOLUME 105 NUMBER 63 FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 1981 1 SECTION 20 PAGES 25* $59,476,995 Distribution Closes County Tax Cycle At 79... He Has Spunk McHenry residents have shown spunk and courage more than "occasionally, but one of the best examples may well be Odilon Long, the oldest active Peace Corps volunteer Tne former local resident was pictured in a metropolitan newspaper Associated Press film earlier this week, standing beside a recruiting poster for the organization that has provided him with a new life in retirement Long will celebrate his seventy-ninth birthday March 10 and is looking forward to the celebration of that event working in West Africa At present he is awaiting reassignment. After 40 years of employment with Illinois Bell, the latter years as a resident of McHenry, he retired in 1967 and signed up for the government's volunteer Peace Corps, which celebrated its twentieth anniversary last Sundaj Long often recalls how he could have made much more money bv working part time in his retirement But he entered the Peace Corps because he wanted something different. At first he worked in Gabon, but later was sent to Sierra Leone, where he spent most of the last 10 years, mostly as a designer for construction projects 11 was in Sierra Leone that Long, living in an abandoned classroom in a small village, supervised the building of a school with 147 rooms He said it ended up being a $1 million project and his design was accepted by the Ministry of Education over its own Long is the father of four children, among them Mrs Patricia Loser of McHenry He also has 15 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren McHenry county 1979 real estate taxes collected and distributed were a record 159,476,995. amounting to 99.11 percent of the 160,009,927 charged, Mrs. Audrey R. Walgenbach, McHenry county treasurer, announced this week in reporting the close of last year's tax cycle. Back taxes collected and distributed increased the totals received by the taxing bodies of the county by another $406,292. "McHenry county taxpayers con tinue to do a fine job of paying their real. As March came in - not like a lion, not like a lamb - it occurred to us that this is the so-so season. There is nothing spectacular in the news, but in an Age when most news is bad, the absence of excitement is not something to be lamented. In the newspaper business one soon becomes immune to bizarre news releases. Rarely a day passes that something out of the ordinary isn't included in the mail. But the Monday mail went too far. From the Tax Information center - of all unlikely sources came the greeting, Gentleperson. That was just about all we needed to spoil the day. After spending the weekend assembling figures for the April 15 deadline, we were not in the mood to be treated in a patronizing manner. (Continued on page 18) estate taxes," Mrs. Walgenbach said. "I want to point out that this was the first tax year that no personal property taxes, either personal or corporate, were levied Yet taxes charged for real estate alone in tax year 1979, some $60,000,000,exceeded the 1978 figure of $56,000,000 charged which included $3,305,000 of personal property taxes." The record collections of the 1979 year distributed to the taxing districts by the county treasurer do not include any receipts from increased corporate income taxes by the State of Illinois which replaced the personal property tax. McHenry county school districts received $42,247,509 or 70 percent of the total tax receipts; cities and villages received 4,803,561 or 8.01 percent; the county government's related funds;, mental health, tuberculosis fund, high way funds, veterans' assistance and others received $4,619,014 or 7.70 per cent; townships, $3,479,296 or 5.80 percent; fire protection districts, $2,012,573 or 3.35 percent; conservation district $1,106,629 or 1.85 percent, libraries, hospital, cemetery, sanitary, and park districts received $188,935 or 0.31 percent. Penalties and fees totaled $127,703 or 2.13 percent. Penalties and fees received from taxpayers are applied to general operating costs of the county and paid into the county general fund. Dunham township led the seventeen townships in McHenry county in collection percentage with 99.81 percent of its real estate taxes collected. It was followed by Seneca, 99.74 percent; Riley, 99.73 percent; Coral, 99.58 percent; Marengo, 99.57 percent; Greenwood, 99.53 percent; Richmond, 99.47 percent; Dorr, 99.42 percent;, Chemung, 99.37 percent; Hebron, 99.38 percent;• Algonquin, 99.23 percent; McHenry, 99.22 percent; Grafton, 99.16 percent; Alden, 99.01 percent; Har- tland, 98.34 percent; Nunda, 96.24 percent, and Burton, 96.96 percent. For April 7 Election Set Registration Deadline Monday, March 9, is the last day anyone residing in McHenry county will be able to register or change an address for voting at the April 7 consolidated election. Anyone changing an address must notify the (founty clerk's office or a deputy registrar Any new resident of McHenry county who will have resided in his voting precinct 30 days by April 7, or who will be 18 years of age on or before that date must register. The county clerk's office will be open Saturday, March 7, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the purpose of registering voters and to accept address changes for registered voters in McHenry county. Those with questions regarding the status of their voter registration should contact the,county clerk's office im mediately at 815-398-3040. Prepare Liturgy For Anniversary Vito Gioia and Michelle Skarzynski are shown with their teacher. Sister Marianne, preparing the liturgy for the tenth anniversary celebration of the Montini Consolidated school system. The school, which resulted from the consolidation of the parish schools of St. Patrick and St. Mary, fwill celebrate their anniversrary from March 28 through April 4. when a special Mass will be offered at St. Patrick church, with Bishop O'Neill officiating. STAFF PHOTO-WAYNE GAYLORD Recalling City Election New Traffic Signs Plan Beautification Of City 50 Years Ago Your Police Department Share Ideas March 10 s Page 19 Page 17 Page 2 * Free TV Guide in Today's Edition *